Cef Michael brings CD release concert home to N.Ky.

INDEPENDENCE – For the past two years, Cef Michael has played his music in large and small venues from Nashville to the Gulf Shores and Las Vegas, but for the release of his new CD, he’s bringing the party right back to Northern Kentucky.

The release party will take place at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 19, at the Madison Theatre in Covington. Tickets cost $20, which will also feature Radio Romance, Greg Burroughs, Ryan Broshear, Heather Roush and The Cason Coburn Band, Billy Brown, Marty Conner and The Tyler Moore Band.

For tickets, visit www.madisontheateronline.com.

“Where I Belong,” is Michael’s second CD, produced by Intellectual Music Group of Nashville by David LaChance and engineer Milan Bogden.

Bogden has 29 Grammys and more than 300 gold records to his name from working with a diverse array of artists since 1962, including Patsy Cline, KC & the Sunshine Band, Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire, Funkadelic and Jimmy Buffett.

“Cef is very talented. He’s a one-of-a-kind type of guy. He’s very determined,” said Bogden, who lives in Nashville. “It’s that persistence that will pay off. He’ll make things happen. If you keep going, it doesn’t matter if you’re a good writer or a good singer, you’re going to make it. He’s good and he won’t stop. So that’s it.”

For Michael, the concert and CD release is literally coming home.

He was called Cef when he attended Piner Elementary and White’s Tower, but his full name is Michael Anthony Cefaratti III, a name he says has “too many vowels in it to be a country singer.”

Helping his neighbors is also on Micheal’s mind.

With the CD release concert, he’s starting the Power of Music Foundation, which will collect 20 percent of his merchandise sales and sponsorships to help support local charities.

“I see Kambie Thomas-Perkins working so hard with the Kenton County Independent Army, and I see teens and adults who are addicted to heroin. This is what I can do to help,” he said. “I’ve always said there’s power in music. If the spotlight is going to be on me, I’m going to use it to do something good. If I can help other people, I will.”

Including his friends in the CD release concert is another way he’s literally sharing the spotlight.

“Of course there’s always competition, but it’s a great opportunity when people come together. We’re all in it to entertain people and make music and do what we love,” said Billy Brown, a musician from Edgewood who has known Michael a few years out on the road. “I’m glad he asked me to be a part of it with so many other great musicians. I’m very excited. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”